German Chancellor Angela Merkel on
Wednesday called for cooperation on biofuels in a meeting with Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, at the start of Merkel's first
Latin American tour.
The German leader, who was met with military honours, called upon Brazil to continue to produce environmentally-friendly biofuels, but stressed that they
have to be used "in a sustainable way" and cannot be produced to the
detriment of the rainforest.
"Biofuels are a path to the replacement of fossil fuels," Merkel
said.
Brazil is the world's second-largest producer of ethanol, after the United
States, but produces its variant from sugar cane rather than the less
energy-efficient corn used by the North American nation. Between them, the two
countries produce more than 70 per cent of the world's ethanol.
An agreement for cooperation on renewable energy is at the centre of Merkel's
trip to Brazil, but the Roman Catholic Church and environmental organizations
have criticized the deal because it lacks sufficient emphasis on the situation
of sugar cane plantation workers and on the protection of the rainforest.
Both Merkel and Lula are set to attend the European Union-Latin America and the
Caribbean summit on Friday and Saturday in Lima, dpa
reported.
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